Our home is one of Tokyo’s old shitamachi (downtown) neighbourhoods. Craftsmanship remains well and truly alive, with small manufacturing workshops and factories lining the streets. Work and daily life exist in close proximity and there is a strong sense of community. The neighbourhood is often talked about as a place that embraces both old and new. Kakimori has been nurtured by the area and its people since the day we began.
In neighbourhoods like these, people’s thoughts are never too far from one another. Personal ties run deep in the community and so it’s not unusual to hear remarks like, “This will please so and so,” or “This is exactly their cup of tea.”
One day, a local artisan was delivering stock to our shop and was delighted to see our customers happily shopping for papers and envelopes. In that moment, we felt we had accomplished one of the things we set out to do.
The values at the heart of Kakimori were formed through our interactions with the people of this neighbourhood. Old-fashioned coffee shops and modern roasteries, while seemingly different to stationery shops, thrive because of relationships that begin with a love of coffee. At Kakimori we have a love for writing and by building on this passion, we hope that our shop can be a place where people connect and find joy in the act of sharing.
As enthusiasts for sharing the joy of writing, we imagine ourselves as storytellers within our neighbourhood.
At the forefront of what we do is making people happy, whether it be through customer service, design or manufacturing. We honour feedback and ideas from customers and take a collaborative approach with suppliers and manufacturers, working together to create products we can all be proud of. As times change, we wish to remain open to possibilities and continue to carry out our best work.
